Wisconsin improves participation and performance on AP

Wisconsin improved both public school student participation and performance on Advanced Placement (AP) exams administered last May.

The state had a 5.7 percent increase in participation from the prior year with 42,783 public school students taking 72,637 AP exams, an increase of 2,326 student test-takers. Nationally, nearly 2.4 million students took almost 4.3 million AP exams. The exams are scored on a scale of one through five, with scores of three or higher generally receiving college credit, advanced standing, or both at many colleges and universities. Wisconsin students had 65.9 percent of their exams scored three or higher compared to 65.5 percent in 2016. Nationally, 56.0 percent of 2017 exams were scored three or above. Disparities in achievement among student groups by race and ethnicity are apparent both in Wisconsin and nationally.

“Congratulations to all those students who demonstrated their college readiness by taking advanced coursework and succeeding on Advanced Placement exams,” said State Superintendent Tony Evers. “The AP program is a great opportunity to get a jump start on requirements or electives for technical college and university studies. We need to continue efforts to extend opportunities for rigorous coursework to all students and support their success.”

The preliminary AP results accompanied the College Board’s national release of results for SAT college and career readiness exams. Wisconsin had 1,252 public school students in the class of 2017 who took the SAT at least once during their high school career. Results for these students were considerably higher than their peers nationally. Wisconsin’s ERW (evidence-based reading and writing) score was 652, compared to a national score of 527. The mathematics score for Wisconsin 2017 graduates was 657 compared to 517 nationally. The SAT is scored on a scale of 200 to 800.